


Sidekick

by Cartoonygirl



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Fenton tries to be a good influence on children, Gen, I saw art of this au and I was like “I NEED TO WRITE”, definitely not very canon compliant, huey has anxiety, its really not that bad, my bad - Freeform, oh boy did this fic go off the rails super fast, please somebody stop me, rated teen for some violence and swearing, there are no actual villains in this show
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-08-09 01:31:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16440503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cartoonygirl/pseuds/Cartoonygirl
Summary: After accidentally “borrowing” a prototype from Gyro, Huey goes through the trials and tribulations of being a sidekick.





	1. The Intern

**Author's Note:**

> hey! I’m back with fic again! this is based off a cool AU by @owldart on tumblr, so go check them out!
> 
> also the title is really just a holder until i think of something clever to rename this

And to think, it only took asking a million times, a twenty dollar bribe, and a word with Uncle Scrooge for Huey to become Gyro’s second intern. 

“Good, the new intern. Don’t touch anything,” Gyro said as soon as he heard Huey enter the first morning. “Now grab me that wrench.”

Huey blinked. ”Wait, you just said-“ 

“Only touch the things I give you permission to touch!” Gyro squaked, dodging a few stray sparks. Huey quickly grabbed the wrench and rushed forward, handing it over to Gyro. He twisted a few times, then put the wrench to the side, satisfied with his work. 

He turned to Huey. “Now don’t think that I’m doing this because I need another intern,” Gyro said. “Mr. McDuck said this was _temporary_ , and I intend for it to stay that way.” 

“Just until I earn my advanced engineering badge,” Huey said, trying to sound chipper. Inside, he was beginning to doubt his ability to handle the internship. 

_“Now remember,” Scrooge had warned him. “Gyro’s a bit... temperamental.”_

_“I know,” Huey had said. “But I can handle it.”_

_Scrooge placed his hand on Huey’s shoulder. “Just don’t let him use you to test any of his experiments and you’ll be fine.”_

_“How hard could that be?” Huey asked. He recieved a vaguely worried look from his uncle._

_“Harder than you think.”_

”Dr. Gearloose! Sorry I’m- oh.” Fenton careened into the room, dropping all his things, before spotting Huey and coming to a complete stop. The way he looked at Huey was almost with... recognition, but Huey didn’t think they’d met before. “Who’s this?”

”I’m Huey,” Huey said, smiling. 

“Fenton,” Fenton said. “You’re one of Mr. McDuck’s nephews, right?” Huey nodded. “I’m Dr. Gearloose’s intern.”

”So is he,” Gyro said. “And you both have a job to do!”

”Right, yes, sorry,” Fenton said, rushing off. 

* * *

By halfway through the day, Huey, Fenton, and Gyro had lapsed into mostly a mostly silent workflow, and that was fine with Huey. After all, it's not like he had much to say, and he felt as though he were imposing. Which he sort of was.

"Oh!" Fenton suddenly jumped, seeing a small red flare on his watch. "Uh, Dr. Gearloose, I have to- step out. For a minute. I'll be back!" He rushed out of the room. Gyro sighed. 

"What was that all about?" Huey asked. 

Gyro waved him off. "Ah, nothing." 

Huey didn't question it, not even when Fenton walked back in about ten minutes later smelling like smoke and burning.

* * *

 

"How was your job?" Dewey asked, leaning down from the top bunk as Huey entered.

His older brother flopped down onto his bed with a sigh. "Exhausting."

"Exhausting?" Louie questioned, without even glancing up from his phone. "You're a lab assistant."

"Intern," Huey corrected. "And it's harder than it seems, okay?"

Louie gave him a "m-hm" and didn't say anything else. 

Huey closed his eyes and tried not to wonder why something about Fenton seemed so familiar.


	2. The Prototype

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay, two chapters in one day! now we get to the plot!
> 
> and this is all unedited if you couldn't tell

Donald had decided to drive Huey to the bin the next morning, even as Huey insisted that  _it's fine, I can get a ride with Uncle Scrooge, really_ , Donald was determined. 

"I'm just so proud of you," Donald gushed to Huey as they left the manor. 

"It's just an internship," Huey said, flipping through the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook absentmindedly. He didn't understand  _why_ his uncle was making such a big deal about it.

Donald just smiled. "It's the beginning of a good work ethic. That's a lifelong skill." Huey found that, frankly, a little ridiculous, but decided not to say anything. 

They pulled into the bin's parking lot in a few short minutes. "I'll see you later!" Huey called as he hopped out of the car, pulling his backpack over his shoulder and giving Donald a small wave.

"They grow up so fast," Donald said fondly.

* * *

 

"Small intern, good, you're here. Hand me that screwdriver," Gyro said in lieu of a greeting. Huey grabbed the screwdriver and handed it to Gyro, who began tinkering with something that was mostly hidden under a sheet. 

"What's that?" Huey asked, trying to get a better look. 

Gyro shooed him off. "None of your concern," he snapped. "Just a prototype, that's all."

Fenton entered, slightly disheveled, about ten minutes later. "There was a slight emergency," he said apologetically. 

"Just get to work," Gyro sighed. Fenton scurried off. "And... there!" Gyro triumphantly plugged in the last wire and slammed the mysterious invention's control panel shut. "Activation code... oh. Oh no. No, no, no, no!" 

"What?" Huey asked. 

"I FORGOT THE ACTIVATION CODE!" Gyro threw a pile of papers aside, shuffling through a mess of sheets. "I know I wrote it down somewhere..."

The building suddenly shook with a loud explosion, knocking the frantic Gyro off his feet. "Oh, what now?"

"Where's Scrooge McDuck?" a voice yelled from outside. Huey sighed. 

"Beagle boys." 

Fenton rushed past, duffel bag in hand. As the door slammed shut, Huey heard a loud "BLATHERING BLATHERSKITE!"

Now why did that sound familiar too?

"Intern! Get back here!" Gyro shouted, rushing out after Fenton, leaving Huey alone in the lab. 

He stood up from where he'd fallen in the explosion. "Well, this is deplorable."

And from across the room, the sheet hiding the prototype lit up.

* * *

 

"Gizmoduck? Again?" the beagle boy (Fenton wasn't sure which one was which) said.

"That's right!" Fenton yelled, standing on the bin's highest floor.

"GIZMODUCK! CUT THAT OUT!" Gyro was angry, but then again, what else was new. "I WILL FIRE YOU! AGAIN!"

The threat distracted Fenton long enough for one of the beagle boys to throw another weapon, which exploded as soon as it hit the ground. Fenton landed on the ground painfully. 

"Oh, damn it all!" Gyro, now pacing angrily, shouted from below him.

"Hey-!" Fenton was about to argue, but then he remembered that there were more important things going on. Too important to start a petty argument right now. Fenton stood back up, trying to regain his balance.

The beagle boy threw another explosive, or whatever they were, and he somehow managed to aim, because now it was flying right toward's Fenton's face.  _I really thought I would live longer_ , he thought, and then,  _that's a terrible last thought_ _._

But then something knocked the explosive into the nearby water. 

"Who are  _you?"_ the beagle boy asked, and Fenton was going to ask the same thing. 

There was a very small child- robot?- no, it was a child- standing in front of him. The child in question was wearing a suit similar to Fenton's, which meant that this small child was probably in danger thanks to Gyro.

He had a pretty good guess as to who the child was.

"Are you kidding me?!" Gyro screamed, loud enough to make Fenton wince.

"I'm- uh- well, I'm Gizmobuddy! Yeah. That's me!" Huey exclaimed, his voice part anxious and part excited. Fenton could practically  _hear_ the adrenaline high. 

"Kid, please do not get involved. They have weapons," Fenton whispered. 

"I can do this," Huey said, though now that the first burst of energy was wearing off he was hit with the realization that maybe he _couldn't_ do this. But there was no time to think of that, because another explosive (where were those coming from?) was flying at them. Well, to the right of them.

"Watch out!" Huey yelled, dodging to the left, followed by Fenton.

Fenton moved forward. "That's enough of _that_ ," he said, loud enough for the beagle boys to hear. "Engage combat mode!"

More loud cursing from Gyro followed. 

"Oh, I'm not dealing with this again!" The first beagle boy said, turning and leaving. The second was soon to follow, and then the third, though he yelled "you cowards!" after them.

Fenton turned to Huey. "Uh- you're too young to be getting involved in this sort of stuff." He tried to sound stern, but he wasn't very good with scolding. He was usually the one being scolded.

"I'm responsible," Huey argued. 

"Not what I meant," Fenton sighed. "It's _dangerous_. And besides-"

"Hey! Idiots!" Gyro did not look happy as he stormed over to the two interns. "Inside. My lab. NOW!"

* * *

 

Ten minutes and some very loud insults later, Gyro was just about done with his rant. 

"You have to listen to me!" he yelled at Fenton. Then he turned to Huey. "And you! How did you know what the activation code was?" 

"I... didn't?" Huey said. "It was an accident, really!"

"And you coming out on the roof was also an accident?"

"I was trying to help."

"You took an unstable prototype and got in a fight!" Huey could see his point, but he could also see his own point, which was that he had actually done pretty well, all things considered.

"Am I actually fired?" Fenton asked.

Gyro sighed. " _No,_ " he said. "But you will be." This didn't serve to calm Fenton's nerves. "You're both free to go. We're done for today."

Fenton and Huey slipped out before Gyro could say anything else.

* * *

 

"So, Huey, how're you liking the internship?" Scrooge asked. "I heard about the attack- I was out running errands when it happened. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Huey said. "The internship is fine."

"I know Gyro's a bit intimidating, but once you warm up to him, it's not so bad," Scrooge told him. "It's still bad, but not as bad. Do you get what I'm trying to say?" Huey nodded. If Scrooge noticed he seemed preoccupied, he didn't mention it.

Which was good, because Huey really didn't want anyone to know about the technically stolen Gizmobuddy suit he'd stuffed in his backpack.


	3. The Confrontation

The guilt of stealing the suit weighed on Huey more than carrying the suit itself did. He'd hidden it under his bed before dinner, where he was praying his brothers would not look, and eaten in almost complete silence. Even when Webby accidentally threw a water glass at Dewey.

"Are you okay?" Louie asked, noticing Huey's state of frozen panic.

"Fine! Fine. Everything's fine." Louie gave him a suspicious look. "Really!"

"Oooookay," Louie said, with that tone of  _I'll drop it... for now_. Huey breathed a quiet sigh of relief. 

"So! Who's up for Scroogeopoly?" Scrooge asked, pulling the board game out from god knows where and slamming it down on the table. He ignored the triplets' groans, saying "I'll be the top hat."

* * *

The game took Huey's thoughts off the Gizmobuddy suit for at least an hour, but that night trying to sleep, it was all he could think about. There was an overwhelming sense of dread in knowing that he was going to be punished, maybe even fired, when he went into work the next day. And he'd worked so hard to get the internship, too.

The more time that passed, the more Huey wondered why he'd stolen the suit. It was going to cost him the internship, it was going to make Gyro and Scrooge and Donald and maybe even his brothers mad at him, it would cause nothing but trouble.

But he knew why he took it.

It was because, maybe, for the first time, he felt useful. Actually useful. He was always the voice of reason, the brains of the group, but for once he was actually the hero. He was _doing_ _things_ , important things, like fighting bad guys.

This was his opportunity to prove himself. How could he just let that be taken away?

Maybe he could explain. Maybe, if he told Gyro, then he would understand. Nobody would be mad! And he'd get to keep the internship. 

Everything was going to be fine.

* * *

 

Nothing was fine.

"Where. Is it." Gyro was standing in front of Huey as soon as he walked in, eyes narrowed at the young criminal.

"Let me explain-"

Gyro cut him off. "Give it to me."

Defeated, Huey slid off his backpack and handed it to Gyro. He braced himself for another lecture, or a call to Uncle Scrooge-

And instead, Gyro said, "You got the hang of this very quickly." Huey looked. Gyro was holding the helmet with both hands, having put the backpack down on the floor, and inspecting it. "And you managed to avoid the explosions without so much as a scratch." Gyro put the helmet down on the table. "Unfortunately, your uncle would probably kill me if I let you do something dangerous."

Huey stared in shocked wonder. 

"You get to keep your job," Gyro said. "But step out of line again and it's gone."

Huey's wonder was crushed. "What about Gizmobuddy?" he asked.

"Probably too risky to test it anyways," Gyro sighed dismissively.  "Get to work." He walked away, picking up the Gizmobuddy suit as he left.

Huey stood, frozen for a second, before saying, "Dr. Gearloose, please?" Gyro turned back around. "I-I want to help! I'm dependable and responsible. Please, give me one chance?" Gyro thought for a second. Then longer. 

Finally, he gave in. "Alright. Next emergency, you get to go out with "Gizmoduck." But!" he paused. "If anything happens to you, or the suit, or my other intern, you're done." 

"Thank you!" Huey exclaimed. 

"Don't get too excited, kid," Gyro warned. "There's more to this than you're thinking there is, I can tell." He went to walk away again, but then stopped. "I still have one question," he said. "What was the activation code?"


	4. The Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! I know it's been a while since I updated (and I mean A WHILE). I'm really sorry, but some mental health stuff came up and I wasn't really able to find the drive to keep writing this fic. However, now that ducktales is back, it's given me the jumpstart I needed to keep working on it! hooray, duck serotonin!
> 
> please enjoy the long overdue chapter four!

Huey's nerves were on edge as he worked. He kept waiting for something,  _anything_ to happen, so he could call the suit. Gyro had changed the password to something easier to remember- "Gizmobuddy, activate!"- despite Huey's protests that he deserved a cool catchphrase, too.

"You can have a catchphrase once you've proven yourself," Gyro said. Huey didn't think it was worth it to argue. And besides, he would totally succeed. Definitely.

Maybe.

Probably.

Hopefully. 

Oh, god, what was he thinking? He'd never been in a fight before! Dewey was always the action guy. Huey was the planner, the smart one, the common sense-haver. 

Those things could still come in handy, right? Yes. Surely they could.

He'd have to see. 

* * *

 

Scrooge came to check on Gyro's work later in the day, and to pick up Huey to take him back to the manor. Nothing bad had happened- well, yet- and that gave Huey the feeling that something  _really_ bad was coming. It only added to his nerves. 

"Alright, lad?" Scrooge asked, startling Huey out of his work. "You seem on edge."

"I'm fine. Everything's fine," Huey said quickly, stepping in front of the Gizmobuddy suit. Gyro had given him permission to look it over in case anything had happened to it during the fight. 

Scrooge looked suspicious for a second, but quickly brushed it aside. "Ready to go? Launchpad's just outside." Huey nodded, following Scrooge to the door. Before he could get there, Gyro grabbed his arm, spun him around and shoved something into his arms. 

"The Gizmobuddy suit?" Huey asked, glancing down at the suit, then at Scrooge to make sure he hadn't heard. 

"Take it," Gyro said. "Crime doesn't just strike here." Huey stuffed the suit in his bag and ran after Scrooge. 

"Thank you, Dr. Gearloose!" he called behind him as the door closed. Gyro sighed. 

"Kid's gonna get himself killed," he muttered. After a moment of thought, he added, "Well. It's not my problem."

* * *

 

"How's the internship going?" Donald asked, sitting down next to Huey on the couch after dinner. 

"It's... good," Huey said, uncertainly. 

Donald smiled. "That's good!" he said. Then he took on a more serious tone. "You're being safe, right? I know Gyro. If he tries to test any inventions on you,  _don't let him_. Got it?" Huey nodded. 

"I would _never_ ," he lied, overselling it.

Donald could tell something was wrong. "He already testing something on you, didn't he?" 

"What! Nooooo, of course not," Huey said. Donald shook his head. 

"Gyro never changes," he sighed. "You're not hurt?" 

"I'm fine, Uncle Donald."

"Okay." Donald dragged his hand over his face. "Don't let it happen again. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Huey paused. "Okay."

Donald wrapped him in a tight hug. "I love you," he said. 

"Love you too," Huey replied. 

There was a sinking feeling in his chest, though, lying to his uncle about gizmobuddy and being safe. It felt wrong. He'd never lied about something this big to Uncle Donald before. He'd never hidden something like this from his brothers before.

He was afraid, suddenly, that he was going to hurt his whole family doing this, and then there would never be any way to fix it. 

In other words, he was screwed. 


	5. The Moment of Truth

Huey woke in the middle of the night to the sound of explosions and yelling. Not necessarily unusual, but terrifying nonetheless. Dewey had fallen off his bunk in the middle, and Louie was sitting up on his bunk on the bottom. Huey quickly slid down the ladder and ran to the window, trying to see what was going on. 

"What is it?" Dewey asked from the floor, rubbing his head where he'd hit it. 

"I can't see," Huey said, leaning further out the window. Louie joined him by it, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on. All the two could catch was bright lights by the front of the manor.

Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open. "We're under attack! Come on!" Scrooge waved his hand at the triplets. 

"Where?" Louie asked. 

"You're going to hide, and I'm going to handle this!" Scrooge shouted. "That's an order!" The triplets had never heard him like this. He took off down the hall towards Webby's room. 

Dewey and Louie rushed out after him, but Huey paused, looking to his backpack. Gyro had said  _next emergency_ , and... this seemed like an emergency of the highest degree. 

"Gizmobuddy, activate!"

* * *

 

"Where's Huey?" Louie cried, looking down the hall behind them. "Wasn't he behind us?"

Scrooge started running again. "Your brother can handle himself!" he yelled. "I'll come back for him once the three of you are safe."

Dewey pulled Louie closer to him as they ran. "Okay, this is gonna sound crazy, but I think Huey's a superhero."

Louie scoffed. " _Our_ Huey?" 

"Yes! Gyro made Gizmoduck, right? And Huey's been acting weird since he started his internship, and now he's missing during an emergency..." Dewey trailed off to let Louie connect the dots. 

"I don't buy it," Louie said. "Huey's not like that. The hero type."

"Why not? He loves Gizmoduck."

"That's a coincidence!" Louie yelled. He skidded to a stop as Scrooge did. They were in front of a thick metal door. Scrooge typed a code onto a keypad and the door slid open. 

"Inside, all of you. I'm going to find your brother," he said, pushing the triplets inside. Before they could protest, the door slid shut once more. 

* * *

 

The houseboat was burning (again). Donald had narrowly escaped being blown up with it, and was now trying to get inside the manor through the locked doors. 

"Unc- I mean, sir! Need a hand?" Donald heard a voice call out. A short, almost robotic figure was rushing towards him. "Gizmobuddy is here to help!" Donald swore he knew the voice, though it sounded like the person was trying to sound older. 

Gizmobuddy pulled the doors open easily. "Cool," he whispered in awe. Donald entered the manor. "Stay inside, citizen! It's not safe out here!" 

The door slammed shut in Donald's face. He tried to reopen it, but found it locked on both ends. 

Suddenly, he realized who the voice belonged to. 

"HUEY!"

* * *

 

Huey searched the area to see who the attacker was, but it appeared that they were gone. All they had left were the shells of their explosives. Huey pocketed them, figuring Gyro might know who they belonged to. 

"COME OUT AND FIGHT, YOU EXPLOSIVE DEVILS!" Scrooge had burst into the yard, and Huey ran to hide. "OR ARE YOU TOO SCARED TO- Oh, they're gone, aren't they?" he said, to nobody in particular. "I'm getting too old for this."

Huey slipped away, back towards his room.

* * *

 

“Where have you _been_?” Dewey asked when Huey returned. “Louie’s been worried sick!”

”That’s not true!” Louie yelled, brushing tears from his eyes. Huey’s stomach twisted. He knew how sensitive his youngest brother could be. He never meant to make him cry. 

“I’m sorry,” Huey said quietly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

“So where were you?” Dewey asked again. 

“I- uh- I went to go see if Uncle Donald was okay,” Huey lied. 

As if on cue, the door slammed open. “Huey! We need to talk,” he said urgently. After a glance at the other triplets, he added. “In private.” Dewey “oohed” as Huey followed Donald out of the room. 

The pair sat down on the couch. 

“Let’s talk,” Donald said with a sigh, “about your internship.”


	6. The Family Tradition

Before Donald could say anything else, Huey blurted, “Uncle Donald, please don’t make me give up my internship!” 

Donald shook his head. “I’m not trying to make you give up the internship,” he said. 

Huey paused. “And Gizmobuddy?” 

There was a moment of silence before Donald spoke again. “I don’t think I really have the right to make you give that up.”

”What’s that supposed to mean?” Huey asked, tilting his head. 

“Well...” Donald began. “I used to have a... similar job.” His voice was slow, and tinged with nostalgia. “Have you ever heard of the Duck Avenger?”

Huey’s eyes lit up. “No way!” He yelled, louder than he intended. “You knew Papernik?”

Donald laughed, slightly embarrassed. “I _was_ Papernik _.”_

Huey’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?” he exclaimed.

Donald nodded, a small smile on his face.   

“Why’d you give it up?” Huey asked. 

“I had to take care of the three of you,” Donald said. “And I couldn’t risk something happening to me.” 

“Oh.” Huey’s voice was quiet. “I’m sorry.”

”Don’t apologize,” Donald said gently. “I was going to retire soon anyways.” 

Huey nodded. He felt his eyelids drooping. A glance at the clock showed the time as 3:06 in the morning. Donald followed his eyes. 

“Time for you to go back to bed,” he said. “Come on.” He stood from the couch, and Huey did the same. 

“So I can still be Gizmobuddy?” Huey asked tentatively. 

Donald took a deep breath. “Yes,” he said finally. “But if anything happens to you- anything at all- we’ll be having this discussion again.” Huey nodded quickly. 

Donald’s face softened. “Alright. Go to bed,” he said. “I love you.”

”I love you too, Uncle Donald.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yEP IM BRINGING P.K. INTO THIS YOU CANT STOP ME
> 
> also can Donald??? please??? be my dad too???


End file.
